by M. A Casey
I can’t believe I never truly knew him. I had confided in him about every aspect of my life, and he had hidden every part of his. I lay down on my bed just thinking about Tyler. About when we met each other and how he sought me out as his friend. Our time together in the labs, and more recently when I told him about what my father did and how we planned to leave. It all looked different to me now, calculated and planned.
After a while, my mother poked her head around the door looking fresh from her shower.
“The boys said we could have first showers,” she said as she towel dried her hair.
“If you hang your towel over the shower screen it will block the camera from those men.”
“That’s a good idea, I think I might have a rest after that, I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I said.
“No, none of us did. At least we will have our beds now,” she said as she sat next to me. “I'm sorry about Tyler, that must have been a terrible shock for you,” she said.
I nodded, I didn’t want to talk about it yet. She put her arm around me and drew me closer to her, sensing my reluctance.
“You’ll feel better after a shower Hayln,” she said as she stood to leave the room. “And if you need to talk you know you can come to me don’t you?”
“I do, thanks Mum,” I smiled as I grabbed my things. It was true, I actually did feel I could talk to her when I was ready.
Mum was right about the towel, with it hung on the screen they wouldn’t be able to see anything. I got dressed in there as well, I figured it would be easier than trying to find somewhere to hide in my bedroom. When I got back to my room, Emin was waiting for me.
“What’s going on?” I asked a little concerned.
“Nothing, I just thought you might want to talk about Tyler,” he said, but he seemed a little off.
I tilted my head trying to read his expression.
“It was Zeke’s idea actually, he thought you might prefer to talk to me than him about this subject.”
“That was thoughtful of him,” I commented.
“Oh yes, he is such a darling,” he said rolling his eyes.
I shook my head at him, he obviously still has some issues with us seeing each other.
“I’d rather not talk about it though, if you don’t mind.”
“That’s okay with me,” Emin said. “I’m not sure I can be very objective when it comes to him at the moment anyway.”
“Can I ask you your opinion about something?” I said a little uncertain. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer this question.
“Go ahead,” he looked at me with an understanding expression.
“Do you think he was telling the truth when he said he wasn’t pretending to be my friend.”
“He seemed pretty convincing, but I don’t know Hayl’s. I mean he has been lying to you about just about everything for the last two years.”
I put my head down and nodded slowly, accepting his answer. I could tell he wanted to know what I was thinking. Emin and I always found it easy to talk to each other without pushing.
“I guess I thought it might make me feel a little better, to know I hadn’t been completely fooled,” I admitted.
“It might have been the truth, but like I said Hayl’s he's not one of my favorite people at the moment.”
“Mine either,” I sighed.
“I might go have a shower, are you okay for now?” He asked.
“Yeah, I think I must just have a nap and try and catch up on some sleep.”
He nodded and headed to the door. “After the shower, I’m going to go down to keep an eye on Davis and Ian. Maybe I can figure a few things out.”
When he left I closed my curtains, as I did I remembered this was how Zeke got back in our house yesterday. I looked out my window, it wouldn’t have been easy, there was a pretty hefty gap from the window to a branch strong enough to hold Zeke. I was impressed.
I got into bed and held his medallion in my hand, it didn’t take long before I faded into sleep.
I woke after my nap and could smell something cooking downstairs. I got up stretching, I felt a lot better. I dodged the lounge room hoping that’s where Davis and Ian would be and headed straight to the kitchen. All my family was there including Zeke and were talking quietly.
“Smells good,” I commented.
“I’m afraid it’s probably not up to your standards, but I'm sure it will be alright,” Mum said.
“Can I help with anything?”
“You could finish off the salad,” she said pointing to the bowl on her left.
I went to the sink and started washing the lettuce then whispered to Mum. “What are they talking about?"
She leaned a little closer to me while she turned the steaks in the pan. “Just talking about what to expect tomorrow,” she said as she looked over my shoulder to the entrance to the lounge. “And what our best options are to sort this out.”
“Any good ideas yet?”
“There will be a solution, there always is. It’s just not always easy to see,” she smiled at me. “Is that ready?”
I nodded and took it to the table. Mum handed me two plates for our henchman. I put some salad and steak on the plates and took them into the lounge and walked away without saying anything to them. I heard one say thank you, Ian I think, but I didn’t respond.
We ate in silence, we couldn’t really talk about what we wanted to with Davis and Ian in earshot. I was nearly finished my meal when I heard some movement from the lounge, and then Ian came into the kitchen carrying the empty plates.
“Thank you Mrs Knox, that was lovely,” Ian said politely.
“There is more steak and salad if you are still hungry,” Mum answered.
“I am actually, thanks again,” he said smiling.
We all looked at each other as Ian left with his second helping. Since when did they become so friendly? Mum sensed our confusion.
“A way to any man’s heart is through his stomach, and it doesn’t hurt to be friendly,” she said.
“They're holding us hostage,” Emin snapped. “Besides, I wanted seconds”
“There is still plenty there Emin.”
He and Zeke got up and helped themselves. I was full and was only really playing with the last of my food.
“What are we all doing tonight?” I asked. Since I had slept for a good part of the day I was pretty wired.
“Zeke and I are going to my room to play some games on the computer.” Emin said.
I remembered from earlier that he wanted Zeke’s help with something, so I was sure they weren’t playing games, but I didn’t argue.
“I need to start getting things ready for tomorrow,” my Dad said solemnly.
“I guess that leaves us then Mum,” I said feeling strangely positive, my sleep obviously had helped my mood.
“Yes, well maybe after we tidy this up we could watch a movie or something?” She suggested.
“Nothing beats watching a movie while being held hostage,” I said sarcastically.
I picked up my plate and put the scraps in the bin. The boys finished their second helping, as did Ian, and they all went their separate ways leaving Mum and I to clean up. It didn’t take too long and then we headed to the lounge.
“What did you want to watch?’ I asked.
“What about the Sound Of Music, you used to love that when you were little, do you remember?”
“Yes, you got sick of having to watch it with me,” I smiled.
“Well I think we are due,” she said as she sat in front of the television.
I searched for the movie, it had been years since I had seen it, but Mum seemed keen, and it was a long movie so at least it would help kill some time. I ended up finding at the back of the cupboard, I put it in and grabbed the remote before I sat down next to Mum. As the movie started I remembered singing these songs over and over with Mum. It was before the divorce obviously, they were happy memories. Somehow in the last few days things have started to chang
e for us. Not back to the way we were in those memories but on the right track just the same. It felt good.
About halfway through Davis started whining about our choice of movie, saying the singing was driving him mad. Another reason to keep watching I thought to myself. We were up to the wedding scene when he lost it again, and told us to turn it off. Ian calmed him down, saying we weren’t causing any trouble and to leave us alone. Mum smiled at him and then at me, proving that it does pay to be polite I suppose.
By the time the movie was finished, Mum could barely keep her eyes open. I told her to go to bed. I decided I might need a little help after my nap this afternoon. I went upstairs to see how the boys were doing. The door was closed so I knocked and went in.
“How’s it going?” I asked, not actually knowing what they were up to.
They both looked around to check who was with me and then relaxed when they saw I was on my own.
“Alright I suppose,” Emin said. “What are you up to?”
“Our movie just finished, Mum went to bed, but I was going to make some milk before I went, to help me sleep.” Emin looked at me impatiently waiting for the point of my story, but Zeke was smiling at me.
“Well I was wondering if either of you would like some?”
“Milk?” Emin asked me, like I was an idiot.
“Um, yeah,” I said starting to feel stupid. Maybe I should have just left them to whatever they were up to.
“I’d love some Hayl’s,” Zeke said.
Emin rolled his eyes and spun back to face the computer screen. “Of course you would.”
“I’ll be down in a minute okay,” he said.
I closed the door and went downstairs to get our drinks ready. The kitchen was empty, I grabbed the mugs and milk and started the warm them.
“What are you making now freak?”
I span around to see Davis in the doorway.
“Just a drink,” I said nervously, he had taken me by surprise.
“You better get to bed soon, we are all expecting big things from you tomorrow,” he taunted. “The other science experiment will be back then as well, which I am sure will make you happy since you are such good friends.”
“Why don’t you leave her alone and go back to watching us on your televisions,” Zeke said. He walked straight past Davis to stand beside me, seeing that I was getting upset.
“Don’t get touchy lover boy,” he said smirking at us. “You know I really don’t get it, I mean she’s pretty and all, but once you found out what she was - how could you still want to be with her?”
I tried to grab Zeke, but he moved too quickly. But so did Davis, he backed away before Zeke could get to him. Ian was quick to join us as well from the lounge and stood between them now. I grabbed Zeke pulling him back towards me. Ian pushed Davis back into the lounge room, telling him Spencer would be pissed if anything went wrong. This seemed to get Davis’s attention so he gave in and went back with Ian.
“Are you okay?” Zeke asked while pulling me into his arms.
“Of course, but you shouldn’t pay any attention to him. I think he is itching for a fight.”
“I’m not going to let anyone talk to you like that,” he confirmed.
“Well he’s gone now, so how about that drink?” I said smiling at him.
He let me go and sat down at the table while I finished up and sat down beside him.
“Emin said you didn’t want to talk to him about Tyler this afternoon,” he said still trying to calm himself down from our moment with Davis.
“I don’t really know what to say, I mean he lied to me about everything.” I didn’t try to hide my disappointment with him, I was ready to be honest.
“I don’t think he lied about everything Hayl’s, well, not in the end anyway.”
“What do you mean?” I asked confused about what he was getting at.
“Well I don’t know him that well, but I know what I saw the other night. He wasn’t pretending at the Sweat Room, believe me, I wish he was. And he wasn’t pretending when you were saying goodbye to him. His feelings are real Hayln.” I could see it hurt him a little to be defending him.
“That doesn’t really change anything though, he turned us over to them after he had spent two years spying on us,” I insisted.
“That’s true and believe me, I could have thumped him when he came in today, but maybe we are judging him too quickly.”
“Too quickly?” I asked in disbelief. Shouldn’t Zeke be on my side I thought to myself?
“I know you're angry Hayl’s, and you have every right to be – I am too. But he said he didn’t have any choice, and maybe he didn’t.”
I shrugged not quite knowing if that made a difference.
“And his past – it sounds as if he had a pretty rough time.” He paused to see if I would argue, but I didn’t I let him continue.
“His mum died when he was thirteen after she handed him over to a scientist for experiments. He never knew his father who has now been killed by the man who is taking care of him. And he is being monitored on a daily basis. Sounds pretty awful to me.”
“Out of everyone, I didn’t expect you to defend him,” I said calmly but a little surprised.
“Not defending him really, I just wanted you to know maybe there’s more to this and not to beat yourself up over it.”
I thought about that as we both drank our milk. Zeke made some valid points I suppose, but I was still too raw to listen to them. How could I try to understand what Tyler must have gone through over the last few years when clearly I never knew him at all.
“Now that’s enough talk about Tyler I think. I don’t want you dreaming about him tonight,” Zeke joked to lighten the mood.
I was glad. It helped me forget about all the problems we were facing, even if it was just for a moment.
“I doubt I will have anything but nightmares at the moment,” I smiled at him but nodded in the direction of the two men who would be watching us all night.
“Maybe we could work on that,” he said as he put his empty mug down and held my face in between his hands to kiss me.
His hands were so warm from holding the mug, it felt wonderful. Like finally, I could feel the same heat on the outside that washed through me internally every time he kissed me.
My hand reached up to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to intensify our kiss – it worked. I suddenly forgot about everything around me and all that was left was the two of us. We were now so close we were both hardly still sitting on our chairs. His hands came down to my hips pulling me onto his lap, and that was when Davis yelled from the lounge.
“Stop making me sick and go to bed,” he bellowed.
Zeke pulled back to look at me, I was worried he might get angry. But he just looked amused. “It’s fun making this guy upset, isn’t it?”
I laughed and got up to take the cups to the sink then grabbed his hand and took him upstairs. I figured he would probably be going back to Emin’s room so I thought I would try and find out what they were up to.
“What are you guys doing in Emin’s room?” I whispered as we got to the top of the stairs.
“Hopefully something that will help us, I'll let you know if it works.”
He kissed me again softly, but before I could wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer, he pulled back.
“I’d better get back before Emin says I am not focused enough,” he smiled and kissed my hand before he went to leave.
Something didn’t feel right, and I realized he hadn’t wished me goodnight as he had done the last few evenings. I quickly reached for his hand before he got too far.
“Sweet dreams Zeke, I love you.”
The smile beaming across his face proved he had been testing me, and I had gotten it right. He came back to my side and brushed his hand across my collar bone lightly.
“I didn’t want to be too predictable,” he teased.
“Actually being predictable sounds perfect right now. It would be ni
ce to be able to rely on something.”
He nodded, understanding how I felt.
“Sweet dreams Hayln, I love you,” and his kissed me so passionately I was sure Davis would start yelling again.
Discoveries
When the morning came I didn’t hesitate, I had a shower and got dressed for the day. Although I had no idea how we were going to handle this, I still felt strangely positive. This mood was mirrored in my family except for my mother. She seemed a little lost.
When I had a moment I asked her if she felt alright. She smiled and patted my hand to reassure me.
“I just don’t know what to do with myself,” she answered. “You and your father will be busy downstairs and it seems the boys are engrossed in whatever they are up to – so that leaves me at a loose end.”
I didn’t really have any suggestions for her since there weren’t many options – we were housebound. But my father had been listening and spoke to her softly.
“Like you said Evelyn, a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“Cooking?” My mother said sounding a little insulted.
“Well someone needs to feed this crowd, plus from the kitchen, you can hear what’s going on in there.”
My father’s eyes looked in the direction of our two henchmen, this seemed to catch her attention.
“Ian already seems to be fond of you, I am sure you can find a way to take advantage of that,” Dad suggested.
This seemed to perk my mother up a bit. Dad told everyone he would be in the lab and to send Spencer down when he arrived. I went upstairs to brush my teeth and then went down to join him.
“So what’s the plan Dad?” I said keeping my head down from the camera over my shoulder.
“It seems to me that Spencer won’t leave us alone until he has his miracle drug – so I hope to make him one. Just not the one he has in mind.”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked curiously.
“Well the current design of the DNA strain has two outcomes, one to the immune system and one to natural abilities. I want to separate them and give him the drug to perfect the immune system only.”